Given the proliferation of communication systems, more and more users are becoming accustomed to having essentially access to such communication systems at any time and any place. Many communication systems are designed, however, with the underlying assumption and only a fraction of all users are statistically likely to access the system at one time. For example, some communication systems may be designed with the assumption that a maximum of 60% of the subscribers to the system may access the system simultaneously. Accordingly, if the number of users accessing the system exceeds this assumption, the system may be overloaded so that performance is degraded and/or the system fails.
One type of overload situation can be generally described as emergency related. In such emergency related overloads, many users may attempt to access the communication system simultaneously in response to a large or widely reported emergency, such as a terrorist attack. Moreover, in such emergency situations, access to the communications system may be even more vital than in other situations. This is true not only for emergency services personnel but for many of the ordinary users who may need to communicate with one another to learn basic information such as the general well being of another user and where/when to meet in view of the emergency situation.